A Stirling Effort

Sam Pryse

Year 11

Over the course of a week the Unit 1 & 2 Outdoor & Environmental Studies students went on an trip where they would hike over the span of three days and stop overnight at various free-use cabins on Mt Stirling.  

During this trip we learned many things; we were also responsible for organizing food over the course of the hike. We did this in a manner where we were organized into “food groups”. The purpose of these groups was to plan and supply their own food over the three days (two breakfasts, three lunches and two dinners). 

They also organized the dinners and deserts 

at the base camp which we had hired from Princes Hill Secondary. The trip from school was loud and we stopped at Mansfield for lunch, we then finished the trip to the basecamp and sorted out our hiking packs. We then went on a short walk without our packs to go see a waterfall and to prepare us for the hike ahead. The next day we started our hike, we had started at telephone box junction and hiked along to razorback hut, we then followed up to the cricket pitch shelter where we found snow, this kicked off the desire buried deep within the students to throw snowballs at each other. We then followed along the trail to King Spur Hut which had an excellent toilet with a view, and we camped at King Spur overnight. 

The next morning we hiked to Bluff Spur Hut. Over the course of the day we had multiple snowball fights (including one involving the whole class), built a snow-them, hiked up to the summit of Mt Stirling and followed the track to the Monument - however we did not complete it and headed back to the summit for sunset where we were then enveloped by a cloud. Afterwards we hiked back down to Bluff Spur and had our dinners. The next morning we packed up and hiked back to base, and then decided to go for a drive up to a spot on Mt Buller that had an excellent view of the mountains for sunset. This time there was no cloud to consume us, [then] we had pesto pasta that night (it was good and not with too much salt!) After dinner we made a plan to pack up so we would get out on time the next morning. We then left and went to the Yea Wetlands and grabbed lunch, we then finished the drive back, packed up and left to sleep somewhere that was not on rocks.  

During the trip we also learned about snow gums, sphagnum bogs and why Australian soils are so nutrient poor.  During the Yea Wetlands experience and throughout multiple points of the trip we were encouraged to stop and take a second to breathe in the fresh air and {enjoy} the spectacular views of the scenery around us. We also cleaned up the huts we were at to practice minimal impact principles and restocked the wood in the huts when we could. We swept them out and hunted for trash lying on the ground. We also entertained ourselves through our hikes by playing a game where we had a topic and found things that belong to the topic in alphabetical order. Altogether it was a fun and wholesome experience. 

Click on the photos below to enlarge.